Chapter 1

“Is this the place? Where Anna was kidnapped?”

I gulped and looked up. Even at a glance, it was an opulent marble building. Each column was entwined with ominous-looking snakes.

“This is the last place Anna said she’d go, sis. She said she’d quit for good and talk things out well…”

“I’m so scared, Boss—no, Verdette unnie… what if something happened to Anna unnie?”

Mayra was on the verge of tears. I didn’t answer her. I just stared intently at the building again.

Mayra, Anna, and I—we were sworn sisters.

Since we were very young, we only had each other. None of us remembered how we ended up here, but we became sisters and lived together for twenty years in the backstreets of Othern, the capital of the Othern Empire—what everyone called the “Serpent Pit.”

It had been a harsh life. We were at the very bottom, the prey, and predators above us were too numerous to count. But I knew how to use my fists pretty well. I built our own small gang, and thanks to that, we managed to protect ourselves.

After that, our members and Mayra and Anna began calling me “Boss.” Though to be fair, “gang” was more of a symbolic title. We weren’t criminals. We were more like a family, helping each other survive in a hostile world.

Our only hope now was to keep relying on each other, scrape together money bit by bit, and one day escape this Serpent Pit.

Compared to me, who could fight, and Mayra, who could read and write, Anna often blamed herself for not having any special abilities. One day, she decided she’d learn to read too and began visiting the building of a suspicious new cult, Nad, that had appeared in the heart of the Pit. That’s when everything started falling apart.

It turned out Nad was essentially a criminal organization. They’d set up shop in the most impoverished part of the city, lured in the desperate and homeless, and used them for various crimes.

By the time I heard rumors that Nad was behind some major criminal incidents in the capital, Anna had already become a mid-level member of the cult.

Ten days ago, Mayra and I finally convinced her to leave. But after that, Anna disappeared.

“Anna must still be in there. We have to save her.”

I took a deep breath and raised my voice confidently.

“Don’t worry, Mayra. You know how well I fight, right?”

I flexed and unflexed the old iron gauntlet on my hand. Mayra quickly nodded with a hopeful expression.

“Yeah…!”

“Let’s go. If anything happens, I’ll protect you. So come on—let’s go.”

I held Mayra’s hand tightly, and with several members of our group behind us, we boldly stepped into the building.

A few hours later.

“Guhhh…”

I groaned in agony.

This was my limit.

“Incredible. A lone woman beating down nearly a hundred men. Where did that strength come from?”

Yeah, well—there were more than a hundred. All charging at me.

Instead of answering, I coughed up blood.

The mission had been a total failure. We tried to sneak in disguised as followers, but for some reason, Nad had already uncovered our identities. The moment they saw us, they attacked—brutally and without hesitation. No questioning, no checking. As if they had known all along.

In the chaos, I got separated from the others and was surrounded in a single room. I fought with everything I had to escape. But the cultists kept coming at me.

Blow after blow, kick after kick—I could feel my breath fading.

“Shit, this bitch’s strength is insane. Was she trying to take on an army by herself?”

Thud!

Someone kicked my crumpled body. It felt like my neck snapped. My vision went black. Maybe my optic nerves were severed. Maybe all my nerves were.

I tried moving my fingers, but they wouldn’t budge. That was proof enough.

“What about the others that came with her?”

“All taken care of.”

Laughter rippled briefly among them.

“That Anna chick, what was she even thinking? Saying ‘our boss will come for me!’—that was hilarious. But for real, your boss actually came. Poor nobodies talking about loyalty… that’s the funniest part.”

Their voices mocked me. Even as I drifted toward death, I forced myself to remember every word. I couldn’t forget. I had to remember.

“Too bad for you all. That friend of yours, Anna? She sniffed out something called the ‘Operation Saelkar Ruins.’ That’s why you’re dying.”

The man nudged my head with his foot, chuckling.

Saelkar? Ruins?

Through the pain, I forced myself to memorize those names. Saelkar… I’d heard that before.

Yes, I remembered it. A noble family. A branch of the royal bloodline, and the only ducal house allowed to reside in the capital. They used to oversee security in the backstreets.

…But they had disappeared over twenty years ago, after a kidnapping incident claimed their family. I thought the house had dissolved.

The chaos of the Serpent Pit today—was that because they were gone?

And now… this “Operation Saelkar Ruins”—if Nad was behind their fall…?

Wait. If Anna knew this and that’s why we’re being killed, then Anna… she might have already…

“An…na…”

“Make sure she’s still breathing. If her heart’s intact, the alchemist will pay. Same with the rest.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ugh… guh…”

The others… Mayra… they must have all ended up like me…

I tried to think, but even that had reached its limit. Consciousness slipped away in pain.

How could this happen…? It’s not fair… not fair…

“…Make sure the report says they’ve all been handled.”

Not fair!

“…‘Not fair,’ huh? Are you trying to become a vengeful spirit?”

A soft, calm voice spoke to me, surprisingly amused. At that moment, all the pain stopped.

Wha… what?

Suddenly, the room fell silent. Or… had I gone deaf?

Was I dying?

The scent of blood from my broken nose hit me.

What is this…?

What’s happening?

I couldn’t lift my head, but I knew instinctively: everyone else in the room was dead. Silence had returned. I let out a small cough.

A shadow fell over me.

“Hello. Sorry I’m late, Verdette. …Open your eyes. I’ve still got your soul, so you’ll be okay for a few minutes.”

That voice again.

Cold, dry air swirled around me. I could breathe a little easier.

I coughed again and squinted. My darkened vision cleared, like a curtain being lifted.

I had thought my optic nerves were severed—but I could see again.

And in my sight was… a beautiful young man surrounded by white light.

Long black hair. Golden eyes. Slightly tanned skin. And his clothes—extravagant, like a religious ceremonial robe. Embroidered with holy symbols, adorned with jingling gold ornaments.

But what tied all these features together was a beauty so overwhelming, it defied description.

It was like seeing a god.

…As if every beautiful thing in existence had been gathered into one person. Ripe oranges, fine wheat in autumn, summer shade, winter sunsets, spring dawns—they all flickered through my mind.

“…Who are you?”

As I wheezed my question, the man leaned closer.

“My love.”

My love? Me?

“I rushed down as soon as I found you. But I was too late.”

He looked at me with serene eyes and said gently,

“To finally see you again… and you’re in this state. Verdette. Fate really is cruel.”

He knew my name.

He said he found me?

Who are you?

His eyes, as he looked at me dying, were as still as a windless lake. It felt strange. Strangely comforting.

“…What are you looking at.”

I blurted it out.

Suddenly I felt angry. I was dying, and he was just watching me die.

Even at the end, my life was cursed. Dying under the gaze of some weirdo.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand.”

Then he spoke again.

“I’m not watching because I’m a pervert. I’m evaluating your fate—and looking for a way to save you.”

What? How did he know I thought he was a pervert?

It was as if he was reading my mind. Actually, he had been doing that since earlier…

Wait. Did he just say he would save me?

“Of course I will, my love. I’ll turn back time if I have to.”

He began walking slowly around me, like performing a ritual. The sound of silk brushing against the floor tickled my ears.

But why does he keep calling me love?

As I frowned, he paused.

“You don’t remember me. That’s okay. Do you think I’d be hurt by that? Do you know how long I’ve searched for you?”

“Verdette.”

He knelt beside me. I felt his soft touch. He was stroking me gently.

“This life as a human is your last chance. But at least this time, the opportunity seems promising.”

Speaking so casually, he said things I couldn’t begin to understand. Then he bent over, closer to my face. As he came closer, I could see—he was even more beautiful up close. So much so that it was overwhelming.

Then he whispered:

“Verdette. Put strength into that gauntlet.”

“G-gaunt…”

“Don’t waste energy speaking. Just focus your strength. That’s enough.”

I didn’t understand.

But for some reason, I wanted to follow his words. Maybe because… at the end of that sentence, I felt it—an immense, overwhelming love.

I mustered all my strength and clenched my gauntleted hand.

That moment—a deep hum. The gauntlet began to transform, shaking off dust like shattered glass. It reshaped into a smooth black glove encasing my fist, a brilliant ruby glowing at the knuckles.

“Th…is…”

“There it is. It’s activated. Just as Comet said.”

He smiled more deeply than before. I wanted to ask what this was—but then pain, searing like lava, erupted from my heart.

I gasped.

“Comet’s ‘Return’ has activated.”

“Return? What’s that…”

“It exists. Ask her.”

“What?”

He was suddenly kneeling beside me again. He gently brushed my hair behind my ear.

“…Our reunion may be delayed, but I’ll endure. The longer we wait, the sweeter it’ll be.”

Then he lowered his face—and kissed me.

It was my first kiss.